Drooling Over an Overstocked Pantry

When I’m bored, I think about food. Not necessarily eating food, but preparing it. But this isn’t your run of the mill fantasy of creating sumptuous dinner parties or baking sticky sweet treats. No, instead I perform what I think of as Depression Era inspired food fantasizing; I mentally raid my pantry and set myself a challenge to make a full meal for 6 diners from whatever is there. And if I’m really bored, I start to stock the pantry in my mind.

That doesn’t mean I go shopping like any ordinary person. Oh no. My fantasizing of the perfect pantry is on the scale of old-school MGM Musicals. Just to give you an idea of the scope, pretty soon I’ve envisioned all of the canned goods that would have come from my 50 by 50 foot vegetable garden, and the dried herbs and herbal teas from my large herb and flower garden. Of course we can’t forget the dairy items – yogurts and cheeses – and smoked meats that would have come from my cow and sows. Naturally my house would be surrounded by luscious wild fruit trees and bushes – raspberries, sour cheers, plums, apples and pears – so the dried, canned and frozen items would be plentiful as well.

When I lived in the Midwest, none of this was far-fetched, and indeed, I also could have grown my own wheat, rye, flax, spelt, and corn to make flours to turn into a variety of baked goods. Chickens providing eggs and meat are increasingly a part of many rural and urban homes and I would have had them as well. The big joke is that I’m single – no partner and mess of kids to cook for from this cornucopia of a pantry. But dreaming is the first step to making it a reality!

Love and Hugs!